Whiskey jay, camp robber, moose bird, Canada jay or grey jay — a great choice of names for a quiet bird. For some time now, the “official” name has been grey jay. Camp robber sounds applicable because they are often seen sneaking off with food from the picnic table. I am not sure of the origin for “moose bird” but that name may have come from hunters who while hunting for moose often saw this jay in similar type of vert.
Compared to Steller’s jays and blue jays the grey jay is certainly not a loud bird. The Steller’s jay, our provincial bird, sometimes announces its presence with raspy squawks and screams. All three of these jays are found here but you may only spot a grey jay while patiently watching for it after hearing its soft whistling. That is what alerted me while outside in the yard several mornings ago.
It was one of those calm, slightly hazy fall mornings. Looking up I saw a grey jay watching me from a perch above the birdbath where, several times in previous weeks, I had seen them drinking. This one took off to some nearby trees.
Now Holly, who had said to let her know when some grey jays were around, came out but the jays were not to be seen. But I did hear some soft whistle-like calls. I am into this bit about grey jays because of what happened next.
We walked down the lane looking and listening. Then one flew over our heads and landed on a limb in a leafless, spindly cottonwood, where a hornet’s nest hung from the same branch. With cautious advancement, it hopped over to the hornet’s nest and promptly began pecking at the papery structure. Occasionally, it would look down as pieces floated to the ground. Once it flew down to inspect something that had fallen to the ground. I imagined it might have been a juicy larva. It turned out that three different grey jays took turns scattering parts of the top of the nest and probing for frosted larvae and chilled adult hornets.
Grey jays, like the rest of their kin, have quite a diverse menu that includes quite a bit of scavenging and robbing the “cradle”. However, I had never thought a hornet’s nest would be a dining place for grey jays. Flickers will often raid hornet’s nests but certainly don’t have exclusive rights to the contents. Grey jays have been known to eat camp kitchen scraps, dead mice, baby birds, meat and a few plant parts. They follow cougars and bears and hunters hoping to pick up a few morsels.
Grey jays seldom come to my bird feeder while they will hang out in the surrounding coniferous trees while other birds are at the feeder. It seems they are a familiar sight at camp and picnic sites. They will land on the table and join in on the food while Steller’s jays have a tendency to prance around my quiet form for what seems like hours before they will dash in and finally fly away with some bit of food. Perhaps their hurry is to eat their “catch” before another bird gets it or before a merlin gets them. Or, perhaps they are feeling guilty for all the atrocities done in secret.
Young greys live with a rather drab getup at first, later changing to more adult dress as they near maturity. Grey jays and Clark’s nutcrackers are similar in appearance; however, if you see a greyish, and noisy, bird with a relatively long, straight bill and white in the wings, you have probably seen the latter. Grey jays nest earlier in the spring than most birds so you may see immatures following the parents around waiting quietly to be fed. So if you are looking for a reminder for May and early June 2013, this is one to certainly note.
Ed McMackin is a biologist by profession but a naturalist and hiker by nature. He can be reached at 250-866-5747.
